The unusual case of a lunchtime post...

[andrewducker]

This article amply demonstrates why I will never, ever buy DRMed music.  Microsoft is switching its authentication servers off.  Which means that any music you bought from them is now stuck on the PCs they're authenticated on.  Which means that when those machines die you lose that music.

Frankly, Fuck That.

In conversation with cairmen yesterday, similar ideological reasons for my dislike of the iPhone came up.  It's shiny, and it's neat to play with, but frankly it's not so much nicer than other phones that I'm willing to put up with Apple's ridiculous licensing agreements.  I have a Nokia phone.  Anyone can write software for it.  I can install anything I damn well please.  I shall be continuing to support manufacturers who produce hardware like this.

Comments

[makyo.livejournal.com]

I got a multi-region DVD player for exactly this reason - I don't like big companies trying to tell me what I should do with the things they've sold me. As it happens, I don't think I've ever got around to watching a non-region-2 DVD on it, but I demand the right to be able to do so.

[guyinahat.livejournal.com]

It's rather tragic, in that people signing up for Microsoft DRM music were going out on a limb to embrace that particular vision of future music sales. Or they were just thick and didn't realise. Either way, Microsoft will screw loyal and honest customers - a dying breed to start with.

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

I've never owned an iPod of any description and probably never will. I can't *stand* iTunes.

[andrewducker]

I can live with iTunes occasionally - and I do like the iPod Nano I have. But I'm not buying anything that would tie me into it.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

I use iTunes for some things, but all the music on my iPod is mp3 or similar non-DRM, and I've clicked on the option in iTunes that means if I let it rip my CDs, then it rips them to MP3s and not AAC or anything weird like that :-)

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

I uninstalled iTunes, and now use Winamp to manage my iPod. It works very well, has none of the annoying iTunes advertising, and it's free.

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

There's iTunes advertising? Shows you how effective it is!

How well does WinAmp handle videos, photos etc.?

My biggest problems with iTunes is how slowly it starts up and how slow it is to release the iPod when you hit eject.

[a-pawson.livejournal.com]

They advertise only their own products - ie downloads, "look I see you are listening to Motorhead - here you can download other Motorhead tracks" but it's still annoying.

[e-halmac.livejournal.com]

Quite. It's one of the reasons I don't use Mac products - they like it the way they like it, and not the way anyone else might. I'm waiting with baited breath for the Nokia version of the iPhone to come out - I'd get that for sure.

Nokia version of the iPhone

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

*whistles innocently* ... looks at calendar ... looks at announcement database ...

... just as a random guess, later this year ... :-) ... though don't expect a total clone ...

[EDIT: search for Nokia and Tube for some of the speculation ... and the rumours are early next year ... who knows?]

Re: Nokia version of the iPhone

[andrewducker]

Gah! Do I take the N96 when it comes out, or wait for the Tube - decisions decisions!

Re: Nokia version of the iPhone

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Personally, N96. The "Tube" (should such a thing exist, and however it finally looks (the photos on various websites of the current test handset may well be accurate but still not match what the shipping phone will actually look like) is a fair time away, and there's lots of development work being done) while the N96 is a lot closer to shipping and looks pretty good to me .

But I'm sure Nokia are throwing a ton of money at the Tube (and subsequent handsets) so if you don't get a Tube at first, then they are like buses, there'll be more along shortly :-)

Re: Nokia version of the iPhone

[andrewducker]

Yeah, I'm thinking N96 with a year's contract, so I can switch to whatever seems best after that.

Now I just wish there was a firmer release date for the N96...

Re: Nokia version of the iPhone

[the-magician.livejournal.com]

Release date for the N96 ... not something I'm privvy to, sorry. It always comes as a bit of a surprise to us when a phone is released/escapes! :-)

[robhu.livejournal.com]

Also it is a good reason why trusting Microsoft is a bad idea.

I believe when Google closed the DRMed video store they had they gave everyone the option of having their money returned to them, which seems like a very reasonable way of shutting down any DRMed lock in venture.

I don't think Google are angels btw - I just think they handled it in a much better way, a way no one would ever expect Microsoft to handle things.

The iPhone SDK thing is odd. I don't really understand why Apple are not completely opening it up - I can only suspect that it is related to the phone networks somehow. It may be that their contract forbids the development of VOIP apps for it. They have stated that they will not approve any VOIP apps for the iPhone software store.

[andrewducker]

Yeah - so far as I can tell so few people used the Google Video Store that they could afford to just shut it down and pay people back.

You do have to despair of this kind of behaviour - I smell a class-action lawsuit on the horizon...

You could be right about the SDK - allowing Java would allow users to run almost anything on their phones, probably including VOIP.

Frankly, the sooner they stop trying to lock phones down the better...

[robhu.livejournal.com]

I think there ought to be some kind of proper legal protection for people purchasing DRMed stuff. Like, if the owner wants to shut them service down they have to unDRM the files. That could work - it'd make such a service more expensive to run (you'd have to pay some insurance fee) but it would protect the users more.

I doubt Microsoft sold very much music on their music store either. AFAIK the only real game in town is the iTunes Music Store (apart from allofmp3 type places).

The funny thing about the iPhone is that it's not in Apple's interests to restrict it at all really. Locking it to a network prevents them from selling so many phones for instance. They have to do it because of the deals with the networks - but then of course the networks are giving them heaps of cash (and apparently a share of the line rental fees), so you can understand why they're doing it.

I suspect Apple will play this game loosely for awhile until everything is totally broken and everyone wants a (now much cheaper) iPhone v2 or v3, then they'll fully open it up.

[andrewducker]

iTunes is definitely the big one (although I believe that Amazon's MP3 marketplace is doing ok, as is eMusic - both of them have a way to go yet).

And yeah - Apple wanted huge wodges of cash, so going exclusive was the obvious way forward, but that has hobbled them somewhat. I do hope they open up later on. Then I can do some proper research and decide if I want an iPhone (I'll wait to see if it gets a decent camera, GPS, 3G, proper bluetooth, etc.)

[robhu.livejournal.com]

I don't think it is at all hobbled for geeks, as Jailbreaking an iPhone is a plugin and click a button type thing.

It's perhaps broken for 'power' users.

[andrewducker]

It's broken insofar as I'm not prepared to deal with workarounds for things that may or may not void my warranty. Or that I shouldn't have to.

[robhu.livejournal.com]

I don't know - if a work around consists of pressing a button I'm quite happy with that.

It also doesn't void your warranty.

Yeah, it would be nicer if it was official - but it's wrong to say it's 'broken' I think, for geeks at least.

[andrewducker]

Everything I've found says that jailbreaking does void your warranty. Care to point me at something official saying it doesn't?

[robhu.livejournal.com]

I've just had a look, and you're right. I was mistaken.

[allorin.livejournal.com]

Surely M$ could release a small software patch that you could point to your MS-mp3s, which would strip the requirement for validation from them?

[andrewducker]

I'm willing to bet that MS don't have the rights to take the DRM off - they almost certainly only have the rights to sell DRMed music...

[johanna-alice.livejournal.com]

I don't have the rights issue thing, as I can remove Apples DRM...

My phone is a Symbian Smartphone though. For exactly the same reasons as you. (Though I wish they had a version of OPL available)

[andrewducker]

How do you remove Apple's DRM?

[johanna-alice.livejournal.com]

You need a Mac authorised to play the track in question. This shouldn't be a problem as the friend you are proposing to get tracks from presumably has an iTunes account and you can have upto five computers authorised at one time...

Then you place a JPEG into iMovies, import the .M4P as a soundtrack to the movie then save as AIFF. Reimport the AIFF into iTunes and convert to .M4A.

I'm sure it is possible to automate the process as I got this method from poking around in a (non-functional) piece of software designed to do that very thing.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

To me this is the whole thing of downloading illegally gives you a better - i.e less encumbered, more easily used - product than attempting to play by the rules or, more specifically, their rules.

Can we say shooting yourself in the foot?